Heart Lines at Melville Theatre Supports Transplant Foundation

This July, Melville Theatre Company in WA invites audiences to experience Heart Lines; a moving and thought-provoking play that explores the extraordinary connection between a heart transplant recipient and the anonymous donor who made his second chance possible. 

With a strong community focus, this production will also support a vital cause: $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the Heart and Lung Transplant Foundation of WA.

Written and directed by Kerry Bowden, Heart Lines follows 23-year-old Noah, four years on from receiving a life-saving transplant at the age of 19. As Noah records a heartfelt video reflecting on his journey, his story begins to intertwine with the past of another family, sparking questions about what connects us, what we carry, and what we leave behind.

Heart Lines has previously been performed at Subiaco Arts Centre, Fringe World, Fremantle Festival and a fundraising production for the Heart and Lung Transplant Foundation. This will be the fourth time Heart Lines has been staged, but the first within a community theatre setting, a deliberate choice by Kerry who now calls the Melville area home.

Kerry said she wrote Heart Lines because she has always been interested in shedding light on the connectivity that exists between people: be it family, friends, or sheer randomness.

“With Heart Lines, I wanted to explore in its rawest form the undefined and unique bond between a heart donor and a heart recipient,” Kerry says. “I’m passionate about telling stories that bring to life the deep and often vulnerable connection to the stage, and a story like this gives our audiences a glimpse into something that simultaneously explores loss, joy, despair and hope.”

Actor Nick Stevenson, who steps into the role of Noah after previously playing another character in earlier productions, says the themes of the play resonate strongly in today’s world. 

“There’s so much tension in society, and so many misunderstandings. This play reminds us that no one is one-dimensional. Everyone carries their own complexities, and this story lets us sit with that.”

With humour, tenderness, and grit, Heart Lines weaves together the perspectives of university students, families, and those facing mortality, building to an emotional finale that has moved real-life organ donor families and transplant recipients in previous audiences.

In addition to ticket donations, a raffle will also be held to raise further funds for the Foundation. “It’s a true community effort,” says Kerry. “The more people who come, the more we can give.

“Theatre has such power to connect people. This production not only brings a powerful story to local audiences, but actively supports the health of our community through donations and awareness.”

Images: Curtain Call Creatives

Heart Lines

Written and directed by Kerry Bowden

Starring Travis Koch, Poppy Lindsell, Oscar Sheil, Brandon de Sousa, Nick Stevenson and Jack Varley

11-26 July 2025

Main Hall, Melville Civic Centre

Tickets at Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/1391857